Sealing mechanism



May 3, 1938. l.. BENOIT ET Al.

SEALING MECHANISM Flled June 8, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 193s. L. BENCHEr AL 2,116,259

SEALING MECHANISM Filed June 8, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 24 May 3, 1938. L.BENOIT Er AL SEALING MECHANI SM Filed June 8, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 vzlf/@gn ga/gevang Q@ g fd/v,

.l n A May 3, 1938. L. BENolT grr AL SEALING MECHANISM Filed June 8,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 cnU Patented May 3, 1938 UNiTE D1 STTES PATENTermee Moth, Tenay, N. Benoit J.; said Moth assigner to said VimplicationJune s, 1936, serial No. 84,152

Claims.

The -device of the present invention in the form `shown is particularlydesigned for use in conjunction with a carton closing machine of thetype illustrated in a copending application, Serial No. 81,208, led May22, 1936, although the present sealing mechanism may be otherwiseemployed, either in conjunction with carton closing mechanism or for thepurpose of sealing cartons closed by hand, or for the application ofstamps, seals or the like, to cartons, boxes, or other objectsgenerally.

`The mechanism is designed primarily to seal the cover llaps of an eggcarton which is so constructed as to pro-vide a carton body having sidewalls each terminating in a cover flap adapted to be folded inwardly anddownwardly to overlie the carton body. Each of the cover flapsterininates in a marginal tucking flap, and when closed the two tuckingnaps extend downwardly in vertical relation to the carton body and inContact with one another along the longitudinal center partition whichis afforded by folding the carton body along the longitudinal center.The carton body itself affords two trough-shaped compartments which aredivided into cells by the provision 'of vertical cross partitions whichare entered through slots in the trough-shaped divisions of the bodywith which they interlock. The bases of the cross partitions extendbelow the body walls and furnish the base upon which the carton issupported, and the cross partitions also aiord cross abutments foractuating the feeding mechanism of the present sealing appa-V ratus inthe manner to be hereafter described.

Thesealing machine is designed to be actuated by the passage of eachcarton in a procession of iilled cartons and to feed downwardly asection of gummed tape from a` roll and to sever the section and applythe same to the joint or seam afforded between the turned down tuckingflaps, the arrangement being such that each carton upon its arrival willinitiate and complete the cycle of sealing operations, after which thesealing mechanism will stand idle until the arrival of the nextsucceeding carton.

The invention also includes means for restoring the sealing mechanism toits normal idle position in the event that it should get out of step forany reason, which is a highly desirable feature in order to insure theapplication of the seals uniformly to the intended position upon thecarton. The invention also includes means for moistening the adhesiveand for regulating the supply of water to the moistening bath forapplication through a strip of wicking to the gummed surface of thetape.

'The invention is also directed to the correlating and timing of themechanisms provided for feeding, cutting and applying the severedsealing strips so that the sealing operations will proceed accurately,uniformly and rapidly, irrespective of the speed with which the cartonsare delivered.

Further objects and details will appear from a description of theinvention in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention showing thesame mountedupon the terminus of a carton closing machine of the characterclescribed in the copending application above reierred to; l

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same looking inwardly toward thesealing mechanismirom the discharge end and toward the procession ofoncoming cartons; Y

Fig. 3 is a detail of the star wheel and the restoring ydevice forresetting the same in the event it gets out of step;

Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the parts in a different operativeposition;

Fig. 5 is a detail taken on line 5 of Fig. 2 showing the presser rollerfor exerting pressure upon the sealing strip applied to the carton;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation through the center of the sealingmechanism; and

Fig. '7 is a detail showing the cutting knife and associated parts foroperating the same.

The sealing mechanism of the present invention is mounted at theterminus of the closing machine and is suitably supported upon bedplates In, It] which stand in spaced relation to one another and projectoutwardly beyond the framework I l of the closing machine, although thesealing mechanism might obviously be supported in 'any suitable orconvenient manner.

The cartons are fed to the sealing machine by means of an endless. chainconveyor I2 having outstanding teeth or lugs I3, which in the presentinstance are suitably spaced to act upon alternate cross partitions M ofthe cartons. The cartons rest upon suitably driven conveyor belts I5 sothat the advance of the cartons will be occasioned by the` positiveaction of the teeth or lugs I3 supplemented by the conveying action ofthe belts I5- The conveyor chain I2 passes around a sprocket wheel I6which is power driven either directly or through themediation of thesprocket chain I2. The bed plates Il] are suitably spaced to permit theteeth or lugs I3 on the upper turn of the conveyor chain I2 to projectupwardly in position to engage the cross walls I 4, and immediately inadvance of the sprocket I6 is located a star wheel I1 having seven teethI8 so spaced as to be engaged by the seven cross partitions I4 of thecarton.

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the carton is provided with a body I9which is bent or folded to furnish two trough-shaped channels separatedby a center partition 20 and that the cover flaps 2| are each providedwith a marginal tucking flap 22 which are tucked downwardly into thecarton body within the space adjacent to the longitudinal partition 28.The configuration is one which permits the exposed centers of the crosspartitions I4'to engage the teeth of the star wheel and impart thenecessary motion thereto to actuate the sealing mechanisms now to bedescribed.

The star wheel I1 is mounted upon a shaft 23 journalled within brackets24 hung from the bed plates I8. The bed plates furnish a support forspaced standards 25, which constitute the frame for the sealingmechanism. The standards at their outer ends 26 are bifurcated to affordmountings for the reduced ends 21 of a spindle 28 which carries a spool2S upon which is mounted a roll 30 of adherent tape. The roll issupported `upon a pair of rollers 3l journalled at the ends of crossarms 32 on the standards and suitably spaced to support the tape roll 30so that as the roll is depleted the spindle 28 will work downwardlythrough the slotted ends 26 without interfering with the feeding of thestrip from the roll.

The strip is carried outwardly around a guide rail 33 and along thesurface of an inclined guide plate 34, and through the bite of a feedroll 35 and a serrated idle presser roll 36, which roll is mounted upona shaft 31 carried by spring bars 38, each of which at its upper end issecured to a block 36 supported by the guide plate 34. The blocks 39also afford a mounting for shoulder screws 48 which pivot a swingingyoke 4I of inverted U-formation having side arms 42 and an invertedcross head 43 carrying a serrated knife 44 which operates through across slot 45 in the guide plate 34. The blocks afford a mounting for aguide bar 48a under which the strip is carried. The guide plate is alsoprovided with an aperture 46 through which the surface of the feed roll35 projects, and immediately below the cutting aperture 45 is located across guide bar 41 which serves to hold the sealing strip in positionagainst the surface of the guide plate 34. TheV lower end of the sealingstrip is carried beneath a presser roll 48 which is positioned to pressdown the severed strip section upon the surface of the carton. Beforedelivery to the carton, however, the gummed strip is moistened bycontact with the outwardly projecting end of a swab of wicking 49, whichis moistened in a manner presently to be described.

The feed roll 35 and the knife 44 are both positively actuated throughtransmission mechanism in train with the star wheel shaft 23. The meansfor actuating the knife comprises a cam 58 having a maximum elevation 5|andn an abrupt shoulder 52. The cam bears upon a roller 53 carried by anarm 54 which is Slotted at its lower end 55 to embrace the shaft 23. Theupper end of the arm 54 is pivoted to a bracket arm 56 carried by theswinging yoke 4I, and the arm is drawn inwardly by the action of aspring 51. This arrangement affords a sudden cutting movement to theknife as the shoulder 52 of the cam 50 passes under the roller 53 andthe spring 51 draws the arm 54 forward to release the knife.

The star wheel shaft 23 at its opposite end carries a cam 58 operatingupon a roller 58 carried by an arm 60 slotted at its lower` end 6I toembrace the shaft 23. The upper end of the arm 60 is pivoted to aswinging arm 62 freely mounted upon a shaft 63 to which the feed roll 35is keyed. rIhe shaft is provided with a ratchet wheel 64 coacting with adog 65 pivoted upon the end of the swinging arm 62 and spring pressed toengage the teeth of the ratchet 64 for imparting a limited rotation tothe shaft 63. The arm 60 acts against the tension of a spring 66.

The cam 58 in its relation to the swing of the arm 62 is computed togradually feed forward the gummed section of the intended length inadvance of the release of the knife 44, and thereafter, upon therestoration of the knife, to continue the feeding operation suciently tobring the terminus of the gummed strip beneath the guide rod 41 inpreparation for the next succeeding feeding and cutting operation.

The wicking sw-ab 49 projects outwardly through the forward wall 61 of atank 68 having a well 59. The wicking is supported upon an inclinedplate 18, and the well receives the lower end of a supply pipe 1I whichat its upper end receives the inverted mouth of a globe shaped bottle 12carried by a suitable holder 13, the bottle being held in place by aspring arm 14. The arrangement is one which limits the feeding from thebottle, which constitutes a reserve reservoir, since the feeding willcease as soon as the water level rises sufficiently to immerse thedischarge end of the tube 1I, thereby preventing ingress of air upwardlyinto the bottle. The inner end of the wicking swab is thus immersed tothe intended degree to draw up the amount of moisture necessary tomoisten the gummed strip as it is carried downwardly in contact with theend of the wicking swab.

The roller 48 is carried by arms 15 projecting inwardly from a cross rod16 carried by standards 11. The rod has mounted thereon a yoke 18 havinga finger 16 which embraces a pin 88 projecting from one of the standards11, which pin mounts a spring 8l adapted to be regulated by lock nuts52, the arrangement being such as to positively limit the down swingingmovement of the yoke 18 and thus limit the downward pressure of theroller 48. The upward movement will be resisted by the spring 8l whichwhen properly adjusted serves to impart the desired pressure to thesevered section of the sealing strip to seal the same upon the carton asthe latter passes beneath the roller 48.

If by any chance the strip feeding mechanism should get out of step withthe advance of the cartons, unless corrected this would have the effectof applying the seal at the wrong point on the carton, and provision ismade to correct such pcssible mal-adjustment of the parts by the meansnow to be described.

The star wheel shaft 23 has keyed thereon a mutilated ratchet wheel 83having at one point in its periphery a plane section 84. 'I'he ratchetwheel coacts with a dog 85 carried by a swinging arm 86 loosely mountedon the shaft, the dog being held in engagement with the ratchet teeth bya spring 81. The swinging arm 86 has pivoted thereto a rocking arm 88which is slotted at its opposite end 89 to embrace the shaft 90 whichcarries the conveyor sprocket I6 and which is constantly driven atuniform speed during the operation of the machine. The shaft 90 haskeyed thereon a star shaped cam 9|A having, as shown, four rounded arms92 which bear against a roller 93on the rocking arm 88 and serve'toadvance the arm against the tension of a spring 94. Y

` The projection ofthe ratchet teeth is such as to permit them to slippast` the dog 85 during the normal rotation of the star wheel Il whencarried around by the advance ofthe carton. If the star wheel andassociated parts-are properly in step, the final passage of the cartonwill bring the plane section 84 of the ratchet wheel around to the pointof contact with the dog 85, so that the latter will Vreciprocate idlyupon the plane surface thus presented. If, however, the passage ofthecarton should leave the star wheel and associated parts out of properposition with relation to the coacting cartons, a toothed portion of theratchet wheel 83 will `be presented to the dog 85, so that thereciprocation of the dog will turn the star wheel shaft 23 to the degreenecessary to bring the plane section around to the dog and thus restorethe parts to their intended position so that the next succeeding cartonwill feed andapply the seal at the intended point.

By the provision of the restoring mechanism, therefore, the operation ofthe star wheel is' so regulated th-at it will always be set to uniformposition in advance of the arrival of an oncoming carton. During thepassage of a carton, the dog 85 in engagement with a ratchet tooth will,on its active movements, followthe tooth around at the same rate oftravel, and on its return movements will slip idly over the ratchetteeth, so that the dog only becomes functionally active in case theratchet'wheel `should stop rotating at a point at which the dog engagesa ratchet tooth during its active swing, in which event it will impart arestoring movement to the shaft 23 in the amount required' to bring theshaft around to its normal position.

Operation The operation of the device may be briefly summarized asfollows: The filled cartons will be positively advanced to the sealingposition by the engagement of the teeth or lugs I3 with the crosspartitions of the carton, assisted by the carrier belts l5 upon whichthe base of the carton rests. During such advancement the alternatecross partitions of the carton will encounter the teeth of the starwheel and impart a definite or computed degree of rotation to the starwheel shaft. This turns the cams 5| :and 59 to the degree required torst feed down a section of the gummed strip of the intended length andthereafter suddenly release the knife or cutter 44 which severs thesealing section from the remainder of the strip.

During the down feeding of the strip it will be moistened by the wickingswab 49 and its leading edge will be brought into contact with the topsurface of the advancing carton, thereby causing an adherent contact tobe established at the instant the gummed sealing section passes underthe roll 48. At this instant the knife will descend and sever thesection, which will thus be drawn down by the advancement of the cartonand press down onto the surface to effect the sealing operation. Afterthe knife has been withdrawn, the feeding of the main sealing strip willcontinue slightly until its leading edge has been brought beneath theguide rod 4l', which concludes the operations performed by themechanism, after which the sealed carton passes to the discharge end ofthe machine and is removed.

By utilizing the carton itself as the means for actuating the sealingmechanism, and by providing means to effect a restoration of the partsto normal position in the event of mal-adjustment, an accurate sealingof the cartons can be secured at all times irrespective of the speed ofarrival 'or the speed of passage through the machine.

Although the mechanism has been described with particular reference tothe sealing of a carton having `cross partitions of the character shown,it is not the intention to limit the invention in any way to the sealingof cartons of this 'particular character, since the mechanism can beemployed for the application of seals, stamps, or other gummed stickers,to boxes or other articles adapted to be fed through the machine,particularly when the same are adapted, `by reason of theirconfiguration, to initiate the train of operavmeans for advancing anobject to be sealed, means for sup-porting an adhesive strip, devicesfor feeding a predetermined section of said strip to the object to besealed with each actuation of the mechanism, a moistening device locatedat a point between the feeding devices and the means for advancing theobject for supplying moisture to a previously umnoistened section of thestrip during its advancement to the sealing position, means for severingthe advanced section at a point between the feeding and moisteningdevices, a member adapted to be engaged and have motion imparted theretoby the passage of an object to be sealed, and mechanisms operated bypower imparted by said moving member for actuating the strip feeding andsevering devices in timed relation to feed the leading end of the stripto a position to secure adherent contact with the advancing objectbefore the severing mechanisms are actuated and to thereafter again feedthe leading edge of the unsevered strip to a position below the severingdevices in preparation for the next cycle of operations.

2. In a sealing mechanism, the combination of means for advancing anobject to be sealed, means for supporting an adhesive strip, devices forfeeding a predetermined section of said strip to the object to be sealedwith each actuation of the mechanism, a moistening device locatedbetween the feeding devices and the means for advancing the object forsupplying moisture to a previously unmoistened section of the stripduring its advancement to the sealing position, means for severing theadvanced section at a point between the feeding and moistening devices,a rotatably mounted member adapted to be engaged by the passage of anobject to be sealed, and mechanisms in train therewith'and adapted to beoperated by the rotation thereof for imparting feeding and severingmovements to the feeding and severing mechanisms in timed relation tofeed the leading end of the strip to a position to secure adherentcontact with the advancing object before the severing mechanisms areactuated.

3. In a sealing mechanism, the combination of means for advancing an object to be sealed, means for supporting an adhesive strip, devices forfeeding a predetermined section of said strip to the object to be sealedwith each actuation of the mechanism, a moistening device locatedbetween the feeding devices and the means for advancing the object forsupplying moisture to a previously unmoistened section of the stripduring its advancement to the sealing position, means for severing theadvanced section at a point between the feeding and moistening devices,a rotatable star wheel having teeth adapted to be engaged by the objectbeing sealed, cams operated by the rotation of the star wheel, andconnections between said cams and the strip feeding and severingmechanisms respectively for operating said mechanisms by movementsimparted to the star wheel and in timed relation to feed the leading endof the strip to a position to secure adherent contact with the advancingobject before the severing mechanisms are actuated.

4. In a sealing mechanism, the combination of means for advancing anobject to be sealed, means for supporting an adhesive strip, devices forfeeding a predetermined section of said strip to the object to be sealedwith each actuation of the mechanism, a moistening device locatedbetween the feeding devices and the means for advancing the object forsupplying moisture to a previously unmoistened section of the stripduring its advancement to the sealing position, means for severing theadvanced section at a point between the feeding and moistening devices,a rotatable star wheel having teeth adapted to be engaged by the objectbeing sealed, cams operated by the rotation of the star wheel,connections between said cams and the strip feeding and severingmechanisms respectively for operating said mechanisms by movementsimparted to the star wheel and in timed relation to feed the leading endof the strip to a position to secure adherent contact with the advancingobject before the severing mechanisms are actuated, and constantlyactuated restoring mechanisms adapted to restore the star wheel tonormal position in the event of mal-adjustment.

5. In a sealing mechanism, the combination of means for advancing anobject to be sealed, means for supporting an adhesive strip, devices forfeeding a predetermined section of said strip to the object to be sealedwith each actuation of the mechanism, a moistening device locatedbetween the feeding devices and the means for advancing the object forsupplying moisture to a previously unmoistened section of the stripduring its advancement to the sealing position, means for severing theadvanced section at a point between the feeding and moistening devices,a rotatable star wheel having teeth adapted to be engaged by the objectbeing sealed, cams operated by the rotation of the star wheel,connections between said cams and the strip feeding and severingmechanisms respectively for operating said mechanisms by movementsimparted to the star wheel and in timed relation to feed the leading endof the strip to a position to secure adherent contact with the advancingobject before the severing mechanisms are actuated, a restoringmechanism comprising a rocking arm and means for imparting constantrocking movements thereto, a dog actuated by the rocking arm, and aratchet having fixed relation to the star wheel and provided With asmooth section adapted to permit idle reciprocation of the dog'when thestar wheel stands in normal position and to permit effective engagementbetween the dog and the ratchet to occur when the star wheel gets out ofits intended step with the obj ects to be sealed.

LEON BENOIT. CLIFFORD C. MOTH.

